Relief has come the way of 894 households in Emereoke Kingdom, Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State as the Federal Government presented materials to them to cushion the effects of the flood which ravaged the area.
The materials included bags of rice, beans, cartons of tomatoes, pasta, bags of salt and sugar, detergents, cartons of soap, plastic buckets, bundles of roofing sheets and other building materials, cooking utensils, gallons of groundnut oil and mattresses.
While making the presentation to victims, Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo explained that his office received a distress call from the Emereoke community in September concerning flood which submerged the whole community occasioning loss of lives.
According to him, the state had to promptly embark on an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and reported to National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for assistance and thanked the Federal Government for responding swiftly with the release of the materials.
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Represented by his Permanent Secretary, Mr. Nkopuruk Ekaiko, the Deputy Governor said the materials would go a long way to ameliorate the effects of the disaster and give the victims a new lease of life. Ekpo cautioned the people against building along water channels to avoid a reoccurrence of flood disaster in the area.
While advising youths against indulging in vices capable of disrupting the peace of the area, he urged them to key into the Dakadda philosophy of the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration by taking advantage of the fishing potentials of the environment, to be gainfully employed.
“There are so many empowerment programmes in the state which you could avail yourself of, to better your lives. liaise with the federal and state government to get assistance for those interested in fishing,” he advised.
The Deputy Governor commended the outgone Council Chairman, Victoria Tallick for prompt assessment of the situation and the new Chairman whom he said has been very supportive in making adequate logistic arrangements for effective distribution of the materials to the victims.